Forms tool · Fiji · Pets
Pets on a yacht stay aboard under a bond. They are not imported. Rules from the 25 September 2024 BAF notice, what officers told us, and what actually happened to us. Notice read 23 October 2026.
Download the official BAF rules (PDF)
Hosted copy, unmodified. Source: Biosecurity Authority of Fiji, Bringing Cats and Dogs into Fiji, 25 September 2024.
Cats and dogs that arrive on a vessel are not eligible to be officially imported into Fiji. They must remain on board for the whole stay in Fiji waters. The notice's definition of a vessel includes a yacht.
If they meet the entry permit, they may cruise in Fiji waters under bond for a maximum of 3 months, on the conditions in that permit.
Section II.3.6 is a short stay for cats and dogs on cruise ships, with biosecurity officers on board. A private yacht is the bond path above. Check with BAF for your situation if you are unsure which one you are.
BAF notice, 25 September 2024, Section II.1 and II.3.5 (PDF)
BAF told us an extension can be applied for later. Check with BAF for your situation before the three months are up.
Our two pugs stayed aboard. On the applications we filled in Savusavu, we asked for 90 days, the maximum the entry permit application asks for.
Section II.3 says the owner or the master applies at least five working days before departing the current country or last port, and obtains the entry permit. Five working days is a full calendar week before you depart that country. It is not a count toward the day you arrive in Fiji.
Send one entry permit application per animal to animalimports@baf.com.fj. Pay the fees when you lodge it. Do not leave until the permit is in your inbox.
The BAF pets page, which describes import permits, says the Animal Permits Team takes approximately 5 working days to process those applications. The application to import pet dogs and cats says "Allow 3 days for applications to be assessed and processed." Give yourself more time than both. The vessel rule is the one that matters for a yacht: the permit has to be in your hand before you sail.
A reply from Biosecurity is not itself the entry permit. If the message does not say the entry permit is granted, check with BAF for your situation before you sail.
We misunderstood an email and thought entry was approved. We were wrong. The story is below, in our own words.
The pet must have lived more than six months, outside quarantine, in a Group A or Group B country. Documentary evidence of that residency is required. A country on neither list is not eligible for direct entry.
Group A: Australia, American Samoa, Christmas Island, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, French Polynesia, Kingdom of Tonga, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna.
Group B includes the United States (including Guam and Hawaii), Canada, the United Kingdom, and the other countries named on page 1 of the notice: Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Argentina, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Bermuda, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Cayman Islands, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Reunion, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Virgin Islands (British), and Virgin Islands (United States of America).
The BAF pets page, written for animals being imported, says these are not allowed into Fiji: Dogo Argentine, Fila Brazileiro, Japanese Tosa, pit bull terriers including American pit bull terriers or crosses of any of these breeds, serval cats and serval crosses within five generations, cats and dogs under 4 months, and females more than 21 days pregnant. The vessel section of the September 2024 notice does not repeat that list. Check with BAF for your situation.
The vessel section is about cats and dogs. The Ships and Vessels page says other species are prohibited on yachts, and it gives separate Newcastle-disease rules for pet birds. Check with BAF for your situation.
BAF notice, 25 September 2024, page 1 and Section II.3.1 (PDF)
We do not have a separate residency ruling from the officers beyond the notice. Check with BAF for your situation.
We gathered vet records that show the dogs' home address. The notice asks for documentary evidence. Check with BAF that your papers are the ones they want.
The chip must be ISO-compatible. The number on the chip has to match the vaccine certificate and the titer report.
Check with BAF for your situation if you are unsure the chip is ISO-compatible.
Both dogs have microchips, and the numbers match their certificates. The numbers stay off this page.
Vaccinate against rabies according to the manufacturer's recommendations, at least 30 days before you depart the last port. The vaccine must still be valid on the day the pet departs Fiji waters.
The Ships and Vessels page describes an earlier vaccine timing. For the dates, follow Section II.3.2 of the 25 September 2024 notice, and check with BAF for your situation.
Check with BAF for your situation if the valid-until date is close to the day you plan to leave Fiji.
Bring the certificate. Count the 30 days from the vaccine date to the day you leave the last port, and read the valid-until date against the day you plan to leave Fiji.
The test is a Rabies Neutralizing Antibody Titer Test (RNATT) or a Fluorescent Antibody Virus Neutralization (FAVN) test. It must be done at least 180 days and not more than 365 days before the date of export. The result must be at least 0.5 IU/ml.
The test is valid for 1 year (365 days) from the date of blood collection. That count starts on the blood-draw date, not the date on the lab report.
The Ships and Vessels page describes an earlier titer timing. For the dates, follow Section II.3.3 and II.3.4 of the 25 September 2024 notice, and check with BAF for your situation.
BAF notice, 25 September 2024, Section II.3.3 and II.3.4 (PDF)
Check with BAF for your situation if the blood draw is close to either end of that window, or if the stay would run past the 365 days.
Our rabies titer had expired before we arrived. The dates are in the story below. The lab report number stays off this page.
Cats and dogs can only be entered into Fiji at a designated port of entry, otherwise specifically advised by BAF.
The entry permit application lists Suva, Lautoka, Denarau and Vuda. Confirm your intended port of entry with BAF before you sail.
Confirm your intended port of entry with BAF before you sail. The entry permit application lists Suva, Lautoka, Denarau and Vuda.
The dogs stayed aboard. The entry permit was not in hand.
Pets stay on board. The bond says the master does not let the animal leave the vessel, and does not let any other animal come into contact with it.
If the vessel is anchored off the dock, the master or the owner provides safe transport, including life jackets, so officers can go to and from the vessel to monitor the animals.
Dogs must be restrained during inspection and monitoring. The notice gives a muzzle as an example, so officers can do the inspection safely.
BAF boarded in Savusavu. They were firm and fair. They let us do normal vessel clearance, and Meghan and I were allowed ashore. The dogs stayed confined aboard.
We arrived without the entry permit in hand. The dogs stayed aboard. The story below is in our own words.
The stay under bond is a maximum of 3 months. Inspections are periodic, and the owner pays for them.
Form C2-C lists monitoring and inspection of bonded animals on board at FJD 28.75 per inspection.
BAF told us an extension can be applied for later. Check with BAF for your situation.
We asked for 90 days on each application, which is the maximum the entry permit form gives for the intended stay.
BAF will not provide veterinary certificates for pet animals under bond when those animals leave Fiji waters. Plan the next country's papers from your own vet records.
Form C2-C section 21 says the bond is released on or following departure of the animals from Fiji on board the vessel, or by other means as agreed. The same form says a written request for the refund goes to BAF one week before departure, so there is time to process it.
We have not been through departure with the dogs. Check with BAF for your situation, including how the bond is lodged for your permit.
We have not left Fiji with the dogs, and we have not sent the written refund request.
Count 180 to 365 days from the blood draw to export, and count 365 days from the blood draw for the validity. The last day of that year is included. The day after it is over 365 days.
Check with BAF for your situation if the result is under 0.5 IU/ml, or if a date lands on the edge of the window.
Our titer had expired before we arrived. The story below has the dates. This checker is for yours.
A yacht pet needs an entry permit, one application per animal, before departure, and the live-animal bond (ANI BF1) at clearance. Form C2-C section 21 is the animal-bonding section of the advance notice.
The application to import pet dogs and cats is the form for landing or importing a pet, including air import and quarantine. Pets that stay aboard are not imported. Do not send that application unless BAF asks for it.
In Savusavu we filled one entry permit application per dog with the officers. Check with BAF for your situation if you are still at the last port: the permit is supposed to be in your hand before you sail.
We did not have the permits before we left our last port. That was the mistake.
Apply before you depart the last port. Email it to animalimports@baf.com.fj. The signature stays for paper.
The Fiji forms tool does not fill this PDF. A blank we can host is not in the site files, and the BAF pets page does not link this vessel form. Email the Permit Section and ask for the application for an entry permit for pet dogs and cats on board a vessel.
Signed with the BAF officer at clearance. The Fiji forms tool fills the master, the vessel, the bond period (it starts at 90 days), and the animal table. The signature, the date, and the officer's section stay blank.
Already in the Fiji forms tool, with the advance notice. Pets aboard? Tick section 21, attach a photo of the animals, and use this page for the permit.
This is the air-import and quarantine form. The tool can fill it, and it stamps the PDF not for submission when you are on the bond route. Cruisers whose pets stay aboard do not send it unless BAF asks.
Have these with the application, and have the originals available when BAF boards.
We do not have a separate document list from the officers beyond the notice and Form C2-C. Check with BAF for your situation.
Our pack was not in order before we arrived. Have it ready before you leave the last port.
We made a mistake and misunderstood an email from Biosecurity, and arrived without having our entry permit in place. Big mistake, and we may still be faced with fines and penalties.
The permit has to be obtained before you depart the last port. Five working days is a full week before you depart, not before you arrive. The titer has to be inside 365 days from the blood draw.
Check with BAF for your situation before you sail. An answer to an email is not the entry permit. The approval is the permit itself.
We arrived in Savusavu on 22 October 2026 with our two pugs, Mister Pickles and Colonel Mustard. We are still awaiting clearance for them, because our rabies titer test had expired.
I want to be plain about this. We made a big mistake. We misunderstood an email from Biosecurity and thought entry was approved. We were wrong. That mistake is ours.
If you are sailing here with a dog or a cat, have the pet entry permit sorted out and approved before you leave the previous country. We had asked a number of questions by email, and we misunderstood the answer. Make no mistake: do not arrive in Fiji without your permit in hand.
We may have to spend a month on a mooring ball waiting for clearance. We are still making arrangements with the vet to get the test we need.
The worst part is how close it was. Our titer expired only about three weeks before we arrived. The blood draws were 30 September 2025 and 1 October 2025, and the test is valid for 365 days from the draw. Don't make that mistake. Check your titer dates against your arrival.
It is unclear to us whether arriving in Savusavu with pets aboard is permissible. Clear all of this with Fiji in advance. Detailed questions by email generally do not come back with detailed answers, so don't rely on that route the way we did. Submit all the proper forms, and wait for your approval.
The owner pays every inspection, monitoring, treatment, extra test, and vet cost. Form C2-C prints a refundable bond of FJD 1,500.98 per clearance, and monitoring at FJD 28.75 per inspection. ANI BF1 names the same sum, FJD 1,500.98.
The Ships and Vessels page says the bond payment is FJD 1,500 and is refundable on departure if the bond conditions are not breached. Check with BAF for your situation, including whether the bond is paid in cash or lodged another way.
BAF notice, 25 September 2024, costs paragraph (PDF)
The invoice the officers left with us is the one in the table. Check with BAF for your situation if your invoice reads differently.
These are the lines on our BAF clearance invoice dated 23 October 2026. The bond is not one of them. We have not sent a refund request.
| What | Amount | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Boarding and clearance | FJD 87.75 | Our invoice, 23 October 2026 |
| Burning 3.5 kg of foreign garbage | FJD 109.69 | Our invoice, 23 October 2026 |
| Invoice total | FJD 197.44 | Our invoice, 23 October 2026 |
| Bond printed on the forms | FJD 1,500.98 | ANI BF1 and Form C2-C. Not a line on this invoice. |
| Monitoring | FJD 28.75 per inspection | Form C2-C fee note. Not a line on this invoice. |
This page follows the 25 September 2024 notice for vessel pets. An older file from 2021 is still on the BAF website. If you are holding a different document, check with BAF for your situation.
Permit Section, Biosecurity Authority of Fiji, Level 3, Provident Plaza 1, Ellery Street, Suva. Phone (679) 331 2512. Pet applications: animalimports@baf.com.fj. The general address printed on ANI BF1 and the Ships and Vessels page is info@baf.com.fj. Fax (679) 330 5043.
Download the official BAF rules (PDF)
Original file on the BAF website (PDF)
Older 2021 vessel notice (PDF). This page follows the 2024 notice.
Write to the published Permit Section address, animalimports@baf.com.fj. Personal emails and phone numbers of individual officers are not on this page.
The invoice amounts above are from our BAF clearance invoice dated 23 October 2026. The dogs' names are Mister Pickles and Colonel Mustard. Microchip numbers, lab report numbers, and our own phone and address are not published here.
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